Page 70 of Thorns of Death

There’d be no “we” because Isla would be staying behind. With me. “Fine, have it your way,” I drawled.

TWENTY-THREE

ISLA

Iheld my breath, watching Enrico and Tatiana’s exchange in fascination.

There were two things I noticed. Firstly, Enrico seemed completely unaffected by Tatiana’s beauty—much to my giddiness. I’d mentally slapped myself several times, but it didn’t bring reason back into my brain. Secondly, I had a feeling my sister-in-law and I had lost our footing and our upper hand before we even walked into Enrico’s home.

I stared at Enrico, the shadows of his sharp cheekbones giving him a lethal edge.

“Tell me why he had to die.” Tatiana’s raspy voice ended the silence, and for some reason, my heart thundered in my chest. For her. Or maybe even for me, because the vehemence in Enrico’s gaze had my insides scrambling.

He met Tatiana’s eyes, the darkness in his expression sending fear rolling through me.

“He targeted our organization,” he finally answered.

“What organization?”

Enrico’s eyes returned to me and every fiber of me stilled as I held his darkness. The kind that terrified me.

“Thorns of Omertà.” My breath caught in my lungs.No, no, no.I knew those three words. Reina had learned about it when she was with Amon. I knew what they represented. And I knew if Enrico found out what my friends and I had done, we’d be dead. I had never fainted before, but at this moment, I feared I might. “And unknowingly he dragged you into it.”

I gasped incredulously. Reina insisted they killed anyone who threatened their organization. The Thorns of Omertà were thorough. They eliminated threats and didn’t stop until their entire families were killed.

Yet Tatiana lived,my mind whispered.

“Why?” Tatiana demanded to know, and every fiber of me wanted to scream at her to stop asking questions.

“He used you to pay back the Konstantins for killing his parents.” Tatiana gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. “He blamed them and the organization for losing his parents. Adrian’s father was my old man’s gardener. During a trip to New Orleans, my father took his gardener along. To study botany. It’s where he met Adrian’s mother.” Tatiana seemed to get paler with each word that Enrico uttered. My heart clenched at the pain she must feel.

“Illias’s mother,” Tatiana echoed, her voice barely above a whisper.

This time it was Enrico’s turn to be confused. His brows scrunched as he repeated, “Illias’s mother?”

Tatiana waved her hand in dismissal. “Never mind.”

But Enrico was unwilling to let it go. “You think Adrian and Illias’s mother is one and the same?”

“Finish your story.” Tatiana’s demand was curt.

Enrico nodded, then continued. “Anyhow, the gardener had a kid and left my father’s employment. Years later, he attempted to make a run for it with Illias’s mother. She tried to leave the old Pakhan, take the twins, and go into hiding with Adrian’s father. It didn’t work out. They got caught and were executed on the spot.”

Illias’s mother was killed by our father? Two little boys seeing their mother shot dead. Why hadn’t they told me?

“So Adrian made you all a target as revenge for his father’s death?” I asked Enrico because Tatiana seemed at a loss for words. Tears burned in my eyes, and I swallowed hard to keep them at bay.

Enrico nodded.

“How?” Tatiana rasped, her voice trembling.

“He dug for information that could destroy us.”

“I went through the videos on that laptop,” Tatiana said. I blinked in confusion, unsure what she was talking about. Tears rolled down her cheeks, her flawless skin glimmering with moisture. “He had stuff on my brothers. Other men. But nothing on you nor the Konstantins. Not even the Yakuza.”

My heart drummed against my ribs. First, Thorns of Omertà. Now the Yakuza.

“It’s on the chip.” Enrico’s answer was somewhat resigned.